Just Be There
by srkensin
Summary: Rogers learns that Stark has been keeping a secret.


**JUST BE THERE.**

"...and then she slapped me." Stark would have fallen to the pavement, as he got out of his car in the underground parking garage, if Steve had not caught him. "Can you imagine that?"

"Can't imagine." Steve groused as he steered the multi-billionaire toward the elevator that would take them to Stark's elaborate home. He'd been there once to collect Loki after the battle had ended but other than that, he really had no desire to see it's insides. It, like it's owner, was an attention hound. Had to be the brightest and biggest. While Steve respected the man's intelligence, he couldn't get over the other's childish need to be everyone's central focus.

They entered the elevator and Tony staggered as the floor literally came up to meet him . Steve grabbed him and threw an arm over his shoulder.

Tony chucked drunkenly and looked up. "I think I'm going to puke."

"Great." Steve lamented. He poked his finger at the lift buttons in a vain attempt to get it to move faster. "Just...don't." He groaned when Stark rolled out a belch that filled the limited space.

Tony scrutinized his companion as Steve turned his face away and gasped for one last clean breath. "You can't get drunk." It was a statement. "You cheated."

Steve ignored him. Stark had been the one who wanted play the stupid drinking game.

"You know..." Tony got closer to Steve's face. "...I feel sorry for you."

"Why." He eked out, conserving what oxygen he could.

Stark poked at him, trying to get him to release his saved breath. "Because you can't get drunk."

"I really don't..." At that moment, the doors opened... _Oh thank Heaven. ..._and he bolted forward so quickly it elicited another belch of foulness from a startled Tony.

"Oh yeah.' Tony proudly boasted. He broke way, staggered across the room to the bar and began pouring another drink. As he raised the glass to his lips, it moved...he followed without success. "Hey!"

"You've had enough." Steve set the drink down and physically pulled him around the bar.

"I'll say when I've had enough." Tony blustered.

"What's going on in here?" The stern female voice echoes in the tiled room.

Tony visibly sagged. "And, I've had enough." He turned toward the red head who had entered and was now advancing. "Steve Rogers, Miss Pepper Potts. Pepper..." He waved his hand in dismissal to the introduction before collapsing onto the couch.

With twin expressions of disgust at their third, the two shook hands. Pepper sighed. "Thank you for bringing him home."

Steve bit back the normal niceties that he would usually use when helping someone. 'My pleasure' was just too far from the truth to pull it off. His attempt to find the appropriate words were cut off when Stark snorted and then began snoring. "Well, I'd better get going. It's a pleasure meeting you." He waved and backed toward the elevator. The doors opened and he really didn't want to enter again. He took a few steps away. "Um, do you mind if I take the stairs?"

Pepper smiled. "Not at all. I understand." Then before he could leave... "Mr. Rogers..."

"Steve, Mam."

"Steve," she repeated. "...could I impose on you once more?"

"Just put him right there." Pepper pointed to a huge overly stuffed bed in a room that had an amazing view of Manhattan.

Hoping Tony hadn't drooled down his back during the move from the livingroom to the bedroom, he effortlessly tossed him onto the bed. He couldn't help stepping up to the full glass wall and admiring the view of the city. He never desired riches, but right then he couldn't help but envy the beauty Stark had access to.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Pepper joined him.

"Yes, ma'am." Since waking up, he still could not get over how much things had changed. A sudden wave of loneliness and nostalgia threatened to overwhelm him. He turned away. "I guess I'd better go." He took one last look at the man snoring into the covers when his eye caught a picture on the night stand next to the lamp. He blinked and looked closer, sure that his current state of mind had made him see things.

"What's wrong?" Pepper asked, following his gaze.

"Who's that?" He moved closer to the picture, willing it to change but if it was an illusion, wanting to memorize it.

Pepper moved closer also. "That is Peggy...Tony's mother."

"His moth..." The face in the photo had more years than the one from his memories, but there was no doubt who it was. He had spent a year storing her memory away and now here she was, staring back at him. He backed away, once again wishing that he'd never awoke from his frozen tomb.

"Are you okay?" Pepper was worried. At the moment he appeared nothing like that "Captain America" that she'd read and heard so much about. He looked...heartbroken. Then it was gone.

"I'm fine. It's just been...a long day." He politely push past her. "Again, it was a pleasure meeting you."

He walked calmly through the living room, down the stairs and out the door. For all his outward calm, his insides were spinning. Tony. How much did he know? Did he know that he'd loved her? Did he know and choose not to tell him? Is that why he was so hostile while fighting Loki. No, he was like that to everyone, that wouldn't be a tell. And Howard...he thought Howard was a friend, how could Howard...he stopped that line of thought right there. He'd been lost. There was no way for anyone to know that he'd return. Even if they could have known, would he have wanted Peggy to waste her life pining for him? No...but Howard?

He'd been so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the speed he'd picked up. He'd run all the way across town to his small apartment that he'd rented. As he entered, he realized how small it really was after being in Stark's spacious home. Howard would have given her the best of everything. Much more than he could have given. It was probably for the best.

He knew Peggy didn't care about wealth anymore than he did, but it gave him the smallest comfort knowing that she had been taken care of and hadn't lived her life alone. He wouldn't have wished that on her even though, for himself, without her, he couldn't see an alternate fate.

SLAM!

"Ohhhh." Tony rolled over in bed and tried to remember how he'd got there.

BANG!

With a groan he pulled the pillow over his head and tried to block out the loudness that echoed through his bedroom and then through his head.

SLAM!

Was that last unholy spike through his head caused by his bedroom door? He peeked out from under the pillow. The sun was bright through the window. "Owww."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" Pepper bounced onto the bed, causing it to vibrate.

Not good. "Oh no." Tony was about to mention that he was going to puke when a basin landed with a thud on his stomach. "Thanks." was his sarcastic reply that was partially cut off as the festivities from the night before reappeared. When he was finished, he noticed that Pepper was gone. He could hear that she had returned to her slamming in the kitchen. "I really need to get more carpet." He slowly crawled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom, taking his puke basin with him. He still didn't know if he was finished with it.

After some time, when he was confident that he could walk without falling over, he made his was to the kitchen area in time to be accosted with more slamming. "Is something troubling you?" He asked in the most innocent voice possible.

Pepper glared at him and was about to slam a drawer shut when his hand stopped her. She pulled her hand away. "You know, as much as I love you...you really stink sometimes."

Ok, "stink" was a clue word. Then it hit him. "Okay, I'm sorry about the elevator. I'll take care of it. Who knew it would linger."

"I'm not upset about that...well, yeah I am, but..." She sighed. He'd never know unless she told him. "He saw her picture."

"Who? Saw what picture?"

"Steve...Rogers. Saw Peggy's picture."

Tony blinked a few times as things registered. "What? How?"

"How do you think?" Pepper scooped up a mug of coffee that was sitting on the counter before Tony could pick it up. "I did some checking and it wasn't hard to put the time line and his reaction together." His lack of reaction told her all that she needed to know. "How could you not tell him?"

Tony stared at the empty spot on the counter and followed her. "When was I supposed to tell him? We've been a little busy saving the world."

Pepper swung around to face him. "Are you going to tell me that you didn't know before this? You could have made some effort to contact him."

"How? How do you tell someone that? Do you just say 'oh by the way, I'm the son who the love of your life had with another man'?

"His whole life was torn from him. Everyone he knew, gone. You find a way! You should have seen his face, Tony. You need to talk to him. He needs closure if he's ever going to move on in this time."

Tony flopped onto the couch, holding his sore head. "Closure? How is telling him of a life he'll never have going to help him? How is it not going to cause more heartache?"

Pepper sat down beside him. "He _needs_ to know...before it's too late."

Stark's nose wrinkled at the pungent smell of the military gym. It looked more like an old fashioned boxing training setup than the more modern facilities that he was used to. At first he thought it was empty but the sound of fists impacting vinyl drew him deeper into the large room.

"You old folks have something against air fresheners?" His attempt to lighten the mood only got him an under the brow glare. Then it was gone as the bag rocked harder. "Maybe crack a window?" Not even a look. "Well, nice talk." He turned to leave but only made it around the boxing area before the pounding stopped and a winded voice stopped him.

"All this time...you knew."

Stark stopped and turned. "Yes." Simple, honest and with none of the humor that he was known for. He slowly sauntered back. "I should have realized sooner. Growing up. The way they spoke about you. How they spent so long looking." He fidgeted with the rope on the boxing ring. "Ironically, that's what brought them together. The years searching. It wasn't until I looked at the old war footage that I knew."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Steve raised his head from the bag where it had been resting.

"Why?" At the exasperated stare Stark elaborated. "What would it have done? What's done is done. I'm not the child the two of you would have had. The life she lived wasn't the one she would have had had you been there. They did everything they could, they mourned and life went on."

Stark's logical approach didn't come so easily to Steve. "You knew they'd found me...we fought together...and you didn't think I'd want to know what happened to her?" He advanced, not really knowing what he was feeling but Stark's 'devil may care' attitude was really pushing his buttons.

Stark for his part didn't even step back, but his voice rose to the challenge. "Oh don't give me that. I know you've been trying to catch up on things but you can't tell me that you haven't been introduced to something called the internet. You could have even asked Fury...but you didn't. Why is that?" Stark chose that moment to theatrically remove and imaginary piece of lint from his shirt. "Maybe you wouldn't like what you'd find. Maybe _Captain_ America running away from..."

The next thing he knew he was flying over an old weight set. It wasn't the first time he'd been thrown across a room, so he was able to roll and get his feet under him pretty quickly. He at least leaned back a little when Rogers stomped over to him with more fury promised. "Well that was real mature." When Roger's fist raised, Stark backed up. He didn't come here to fight. "The truth is, and you know it...you were afraid to know." The fist slowly came down but the anger still radiated. "This is all history to me, but to you...you still feel like if you close your eyes long enough, when you open them you'll back there. That's why you never even tried, you don't want to know because as long as you don't, you can still hold on...still hope that somehow you'll get everything back." Tony stood a little more confident. "Well, bottom line, Muscles...you _can't_ get it back.

Steve advanced on Stark, his fist flexing but as easily as Stark had pushed Steve to anger, it was obvious Stark's words had opened up what Steve himself refused to think about.

With what was left of his anger, Steve scooped up one of the weights and hurled it across the room, embedding it into the concrete wall. For a long moment there was silence as the pieces clattered to the floor. Steve glared at Stark before turning and heading back to the punching bags. "You can find your own way out.'

"Nope. Get changed. I've got something to show you."

Steve ignored him and sent the bag nearly off it's hinge.

"You _really_ need to see this."

"And you _really_ need to leave me alone."

At that point Stark's phone rang. Steve went back to ignoring him and Tony rolled his eyes before answering. "Yes dear. Yes, well no, I told you he...well I don't see how...okay fine...no fine..." He took the phone away from his ear and shoved it at Rogers.

"What?!" Steve swung on him about to knock away the offending phone.

Stark huffed. "Pepper would like to talk to you."

Forty five minutes later Stark's sports car pulled to the front of a fancy old style dance club. The "Stork Club" lights lit up the entrance. Steve reluctantly climbed out and looked around uncomfortably.

_Flashback:_

"_The Stork club, Saturday at 8."_

"_I still don't know how to dance."_

"_Just be there. I'll show you how."_

"All that talk about me letting go of the past and you bring me here. I can't believe this place is still around. How did you know?"

Stark handed the keys to the valet. "It was Pepper's idea." He pulled a remote from his pocket, pushed a button and the lights flickered, showing the real name and exterior of the club. The old lights and atmosphere were all holographic. Stark flipped the switch again and the facade was back. "This is where the old club used to be."

Steve sagged a bit. He didn't know what Pepper had in mind but if this was designed to make him feel better, he'd rather not participate.

"Oh good, you're here." Pepper came out of the holographic doorway and locked an arm around one of each of theirs. "We've been waiting." With a man on each arm she guided them through the main lobby.

The farther in he went, the more Steve felt that this really wasn't a good idea. The nostalgia welled inside and he wanted nothing more than to leave. "Mam..."

"Pepper."

"Pepper." He undid his arm. "Really, it's not that I don't appreciate all this." He took in the attention to detail and his heart ached. "But...I can't...this is..."

Pepper took his arm back. "...exactly what you need." She then looked straight at him. "Trust me."

Steve wanted to comment that he hardly knew her, how could he trust her, but he knew that would be beyond rude. He nodded curtly and let her lead him into the main dance and bar area. The band was playing an old tune that he really wasn't hearing and there were couples dancing on the floor. Others were drinking or having light snacks. He didn't know what to do. Aside from not wanting to be there, he felt like a third wheel.

He leaned over toward Tony and Pepper. "What am I doing here?"

Pepper handed him a drink. "I know you haven't been out much since...well, in a long time. I wanted you to meet a friend of ours."

Steve's mind flashed back to the date Bucky had set him up on right before Bucky left for the war. "No, absolutely not." He got up to leave. "Thank you, but no thanks."

Pepper stopped him. "At least meet her." She gave her best pleading eyes. "Please."

Steve could never disappoint a lady, and they had gone through all this trouble to make him feel at home. He nodded in resignation.

Pepper smiled. "Good, she's got us a table over here." He lead the men over to a small round table next to the dance floor.

Steve shuffled over, looking around at all the laughing people, wondering if anything was real and wishing he could vanish like one of Stark's holograms.

"Captain! You're late!"

The English accent was worn but still demanded attention. Steve's head jerked up and sitting at the table in front of them was...the oldest individual he'd ever seen. That observation only lasted for a moment, however. "P...Peggy? What...How..?" He glared at Pepper and Tony. "Is this real?" His hand shot into Tony's jacket pocket and retrieved the remote. He flipped the switch that he'd seen Stark operate and the old style room, the people and band all vanished. Except for Pepper, Tony and...

"Peggy?" He reached out and stopped just short of touching her.

"Well you've better have a good excuse." The voice crackled with age but it was still unmistakably hers.

Expressions of disbelief, relief and happiness all crossed his face in seconds. "I...I sorta...um...crashed my ride."

The stern features transformed into a smile and she reached out. He took her hand gently and sat down next to her, unsure what to do. He wanted to pick her up, hug her, tell her how much he missed her, but he held back. This was his Peggy, but not. This Peggy had lived a full life. Had years that he still had yet to experience... and honestly...she was so frail looking, he thought he might break her.

"We'll give you two some time." Pepper turned to leave, pulling Tony behind her.

Steve and Peggy didn't acknowledge. They could only stare at each other. Each lost in unsure emotions.

Peggy was the first to break the silence. "You still look the same as the day you disappeared." She squeeze his hand then her's went to his face. "I never thought..." Tears welled in her eyes and he reached to wipe them away.

"Peggy, it's okay."

"No, it's not. We tried so hard to find you. Years, but eventually...we just couldn't..." She had intended to be strong and hold it together, but years of civilian life had softened the no nonsense tough soldier. She held his hand to her face and kissed it gently, the tears finally flooding. Somehow, he'd moved his chair closer and she found his arms around her, holding her as she cried.

They sat holding each other, until the tears stopped flowing and Peggy was able to sit up and look at him again without a new round of water works.

She reached for his face again. His eyes were red and his face was more flushed than when he walked in but he hid emotions well. "Look at you. So in control." His sniffle caused her to laugh. "Okay, maybe not so much."

He smiled down at her and hugged her tighter. "So, Howard, uh?"

She laughed. "Who would have thought. It kinda snuck up on us."

"I wouldn't say that. The two of you were always friends."

She nodded and they sat in silence for long comfortable minute. Steve had so many questions for her but didn't even know where to start and it felt so good to talk with someone who he knew, even though it was bitter sweet. With a sigh she push back from him and prepared to stand. He stood to help her but she waved him off. She touched the side of each leg and a soft mechanical noise was heard. Then the woman of nearly one hundred stood with the ease of a twenty year old. She looked at her legs. "The advantage of having a genius for son." She picked up the holographic remote and switched it on. The people returned and the music played. "Are you ready for that dance?"

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I still don't know how."

She smiled up at him. The young woman he remembered so evident under the years. "You're here now. I'll show you how."

/

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA A

Hope you enjoyed the story. If you did and don't want to be burdened with the details of timeline dates and such, don't read on. You were warned. :-)

Post Post: Hi all. Not two days after posting this I watched the original Iron Man on tv and discovered an error to my story logic. If you follow Iron Man at all, you probably already know that Tony's mother's name was actually Maria and in the movie version they were both killed in an accident. When I realized my error, I attempted to rewrite my story history by having the characters have dialog to explain the details but all efforts made the it very wordy and drew away from the feel I wanted for the story. During this attempt, I did some calculating, as most have probably already done. In the time line I estimated...to make the numbers fit the best I could, I'm going to say that Howard was about 23 years old during WWII. One could argue but I'm going to throw that out number out there. According to the Novelization of the move. Tony was born in 1973. That's 28 years after the end of WWII, making Howard about 51 years old when Tony was born. (Not unheard of for a man to become a father at that age but that would make Peggy a very old mother) Then, according to the movie, Tony took over the company after his parents death in 1986, making Howard 72 years old when he died. (Taking a breath. :-) ) So what I did was took RDJ's birth year, which is 1965. That knocks 8 years off Howard and Peggy's age, putting them in their early to mid 40's. (More plausible but still...20 years.)

So...the only way I see this timeline happening is this: if Howard was married to Maria in the 60's and had an affair (one nighter, whatever) with Peggy, 20 years after WWII ended. (I really don't think Peggy would do that but that's the only way I could make things fit together.) She became pregnant. Maybe she was married and her husband didn't want to take care of another man's child, or I'm leaning toward that she was single/divorced and not wanting to be a single mom in the 60's, she gave the child, Tony, to the financially well off Father and Maria to raise as their own. While Peggy was still able to have contact with Tony, the fact that she was his mother was kept secret until their death in 1986.

In the original story, I was going to make Peggy Tony's grandmother with the Howard from the movie be a Sr. and Tony's dad the Jr. That fit so much better. Then when The Avengers came out, they had to throw a monkey wrench in there and have Tony commenting about how fond his dad, Howard, was of Steve. So that had to be changed, so now the ages just don't fit as easy. I can't believe this wasn't considered when they were making the movie.

Well, that was my two cents. If I write a continuation, I may try to tell the details with some dialog if I can keep it from drawing from the objective. But, brain numbing aged details aside, the main thing was to get these two reunited, even it it is to remain as friends, and have some closure. And also to get this story from replaying in my head. :-) Thank you for reading.

srkensin


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